Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating
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Sign of the times. The Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating exhibit explores the food challenges of the 21st century, including changing eating habits and alarming levels of obesity in the United States and beyond.
A corridor of food and beverage shows the items and amounts consumed by an average American in a year, including 170 pounds of meat, 36 pounds of French fries and 33 pounds of cheese. We also drink twice as much soda as milk: 45 gallons compared to 22 gallons!
Pizza, bread and chips are among the foods that Americans eat in large quantities. The exhibit shows modern eating habits in all of its healthy—and unhealthy—detail.
The large amounts of sugar associated with various drinks are displayed one spoonful at a time. Soft drinks add significant amounts of sugar to the average diet and contribute to obesity and other chronic conditions. Americans consume some 64 pounds of sugar annually.
Many popular beverages pack a sugary punch, with some having as many as 20 spoonfuls in a single container. The display notes, meanwhile, that water is sugar-free and, oftentimes, free of charge.
A video game with a message. Ayo Engel-Halfkenny looks on as Jonah Mangold Heiser tests his skill in a game that requires a deft touch—a tightrope walker needs to maintain a healthy balance between calories consumed and calories burned. Failure results in a fall from the rope and into alligator-infested waters.
And behind this door we have a … Twinkie! Anna Babbin reads the nutritional information and ingredients and then tries to guess what food item lies behind the closed door.
Big Food’s grand opening in February included informational booths and demonstrations by more than a dozen community organizations seeking to promote better eating and lifestyle habits. Here, chef Tagan Engel serves up healthy and delicious snacks to Big Food visitors.
Pablo Cruz (with his mother, Sarah Miller) reacts to a display on the power of food marketing—logos from popular soft drink companies on baby bottles. The display is part of the Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating exhibit at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
French fries or salad? School lunches are vital to promoting better eating habits in young people and while meals are becoming healthier, there is still room for improvement in many districts across the country. The digital display in the background keeps a running tab of the revenue that would be raised with a penny per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Being overweight or obese often results in serious health consequences, including hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, which can reduce productivity and lead to an early death. Sarah Conley grimaces as she handles the equivalent of five pounds of human fat while her sister, Gloria, looks on.
Naszir Johnson ponders the significant damage that unhealthy eating and excessive weight can cause to the internal organs.
A can of Red Bull, a bag of chips and a remote control are among the items in this model of a typical teenager’s bedroom. Diet and a sedentary lifestyle are increasingly taking a toll on the health of children and adolescents, problems that often accelerate and worsen in adulthood. The screens roll with reasons to “log out” and “unplug.”
Portion sizes have increased dramatically and, as a result, so have the calories people consume. Today, more than one in three Americans is considered obese.
Second thoughts? Ihsan Abdussabur studies an exhibit that shows that a medium-sized container of movie popcorn has the same number of calories as four hamburgers and 12 pats of butter.
Field to fillet: It takes a 70-square-foot patch of corn to produce the 14 pounds of animal feed that is needed to produce one steak. Meat production is a major contributor to air and water pollution and other environmental problems.
The Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) is working is New Haven’s schools and neighborhoods to reverse alarming trends of chronic diseases in the Elm City. Based at the Yale School of Public Health, CARE's ultimate goal is a healthier New Haven. Teresa Smith Hines (behind the table) and Anna Zonderman (looking on) assist victors.
Upon leaving the exhibit, visitors are challenged to commit to changes that will result in a healthier lifestyle for themselves, their family and their community. Among the options are eating meals together as a family, foregoing meat on Mondays and walking/bicycling together as a family. Counts and online voting will soon be available on CARE’s website.
Marlene Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale; Jane Pickering, deputy director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History; and Jeannette Ickovics, professor at the Yale School of Public Health and director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, are among the exhibit’s curators.
Big Food is on display at the Peabody Museum through December 2, 2012.
